Remote control units are commonly available today to control many devices, especially consumer electronic devices. Most of the public is familiar with a remote control unit (often simply referred to as a “remote”) for controlling their television sets and VCRs. Other devices such as DVD players, CD players and other home stereo equipment are controllable via remote control devices. Other devices (such as appliances) and systems (such as a home alarm system) may also be controlled by remote control devices.
Remote control units typically operate by emitting a sequence of infrared pulses that are received by the controlled device. The particular sequence provided reflects an encoded command (such as on, off, adjust volume, change channel) that is recognized by the controlled device. (An “encoded command” transmitted between a remote and a particular device will alternatively be referred to as a “command protocol”.) When received by the controlled device, the command protocol is recognized and executed by the device. However, when the command protocol for a particular device is received by a different device, generally nothing will occur because the command protocol does not represent a command for that device when decoded.
There are also “universal” remote control units that can be programmed to control a number of different devices, such as a television and a VCR. For such a universal remote, there are a number of buttons that enable the user to select the device to be controlled. (Alternatively, one selection button may be used to scroll through the controlled devices.) After the user selects a device, any commands selected are emitted as a command protocol that is recognized by the selected device. For example, if the user selects “VCR” on a programmed universal remote, the encoded command (command protocol) emitted by the remote will be recognized by the VCR. If the user then selects the command “channel 7” via the remote, the channel signal sent by the remote will be encoded to change the channel setting on the VCR. Decoding of the encoded channel command by the television will generally not be recognized and the television will remain tuned to the same channel.
As noted, universal remotes may be programmed to control a number of devices. Typically a universal remote is sold loaded with a comprehensive database of the command protocols for many available devices. The universal remote may then be programmed via a programming sequence so that the particular command protocols for devices found in the user's home may be selected by the user. For example, the universal remote may be programmed manually by the user by inputting a particular reference number (sometimes referred to as a device's “appliance code”) that corresponds to a device in the user's home. The universal remote includes in the database the appliance codes and the associated command protocols for those devices that may be controlled by programming the remote. By inputting the appliance code for a particular device, the remote searches the database for the appliance code and the associated command protocols and uses the command protocols when control commands are subsequently input by the user via the remote. The programming sequence may be conducted for a number of different devices utilizing the corresponding appliance code for each such device. The programming sequence may then also include assigning the command protocols for each programmed device to one of the selection buttons (or the spots assignable using a single button).
Alternatively, some universal remote control units provide a procedure to determine the appliance code of a device in the user's home by sequentially emitting one or more encoded commands for each of the devices in the remote's database and having the user stop the search when the user sees that a command that properly controls the user's device is emitted.
Among the disadvantages of the existing art regarding universal remotes, the user must manually select the device that is to be controlled. Thus, the user must first select the device by depressing a button on the remote, and then select the control command to be sent to the device. This requires a number of manipulations that are inconvenient to the user. For example, a user may be recording a program on channel 2 on the VCR and watching a program on the channel 4 on the television. In such an instance, the user may typically have the television selected on the universal remote, so that the volume may be controlled. If the user wants to change the station being recorded on the VCR, the user must select “VCR” on the remote, depress keys on the remote to change the channel on the VCR, and then select “TV” on the remote so that the volume on the TV may once again be controlled.
In addition, as described above, currently available universal remotes need some type of user involvement during programming. Either the user must input the appliance codes of the devices during the programming sequence or, if the remote automatically emits control commands for all of the appliances in its database, the user must indicate when a control command is emitted that controls one of the user's devices. Both of these procedures add to the complexity of the universal remote, which can often render it unusable for the average consumer.